


Her chief has come home

by Thora_III



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:27:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29066547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thora_III/pseuds/Thora_III
Summary: The life of the Haddock family, or reflections on how Hiccup got a beard.
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson
Kudos: 51





	Her chief has come home

**Author's Note:**

> Timeline up to the epilogue of the third part, about six years after the battle with Grimmel.

When the sun broke away from the horizon, ships appeared at the edge of the sea. The sentries closely watched the foreigners: it was necessary to understand whether the ships would pass by, or decide to turn to their high rocky island.

“We need to report,” the younger viking took the spyglass away from his eyes and turned anxiously to the senior sentry. The gray-haired man signaled to the third viking, and he ran to the village. The two continued to stare into dawn.

“Wait,” the elder viking looked gloomily at the horizon. “It seems we were in a hurry with the report.” 

“No, look at the sails! They are approaching the island!”

“That's how it is,” the viking took the spyglass from the sentry and looked into the distance. “But now we can say exactly who it is.”

“Who?!”

The senior sentry turned to the boy and clapped him on the shoulder, laughing. 

“By the hammer of Thor! I felt there would be something to celebrate today!”

* * *

A group of ships was approaching the pier when the first New Berk’s villagers were hurrying down to the shore from the side of the forest. The morning was filled with enthusiastic shouts and greetings. Those who were on the top of the rocky shore joyfully screamed and waved to the people on the ships and heard subtle, the same joyful shouts in response. The bow of the main ship, adorned with an elaborately carved dragon's head, slammed into the pier with a blow, and the first vikings jumped to the wooden boards, pulling and winding the mooring lines around the docking cannons. The rest of the ships slowly approached the pier, and on all, like on the first, the sails were marked with the symbol of the Hairy Hooligan Tribe.

“Pa-a-pa-a!” a shrill cry rang out from afar, and then dozens of children's voices filled the shore. The men on the docked ship turned their heads towards the cliff. Little vikings ran down the slope, laughing, pushing, and trying to outrun each other. А little thin girl ran ahead of everyone with all her might. The sun played with bright highlights on her auburn hair, and tight braids jumped in time to the run. Another little girl, black-haired, ran almost beside her.

“I bet mine will come running first!” low black-haired viking grinned towards a thin tall man who was lowering the sail of the ship. “After all, everyone knows that there is no one faster than Jorgensons!” he slapped himself in the chest with bragging.

“I won't even argue,” the tall viking smiled, jumping down to the pier and pulling the rope. The iron prosthesis on his leg clanged dully as it hit the boards. Finally, they are at home!.. The journey that they have done would have taken no more than a week on dragons. But now they live differently.

“Come on, princess, come on!” the black-haired man encouraged his daughter. “Come on, well done… Oh, you! No, look! Your girl almost makes her fall!” he shouted to the man on the pier. “Not fair! Here is an insidious girl, all in a mother!”

The viking raised his head and saw how the black-haired girl tried to either push or catch the girl in front. But little warrior, as if sensing, swerved to the side. The black-haired girl hesitated, stumbled, and fell behind even further as a result.

The men on the ship laughed.

“I'd rather bet on the chief’s daughter!” someone shouted cheerfully from the stern to the thin viking, who laughed with the others.

“Dad, daddy!” the girl with auburn pigtails ran on the pier, but noticing the tall viking, slowed down and stopped hesitantly.

The сhief took a couple of steps towards his daughter, limping slightly.

His daughter. Almost five but looks even less. It always amazed him, where there was so much power in such tiny hands to beat Berk's boys, and from whom there were so much wisdom and curiosity in those heavenly eyes.

"Hey, what are you, sweetie?" he sat down and held out hands to the girl. A smile shone in his eyes. “Don't you recognize daddy?”

Hearing the man's voice, the girl smiled boldly, rushed, and jumped, opening her arms to embrace.

“There she is! My little milady!” the viking threw the girl into the air, laughing, and she went into a cheerful squeal.

He sat her down in his arms and looked carefully. She grew up, but still the same skinny. The girl also examined his face wonderingly. She timidly held out her palms to his face, ran fingers into beard, and pulled gently.

"Ouch!" the man laughed.

"Are you ... old now?" the girl whispered.

Snotlout, who had already jumped off the ship and was hugging his daughter, laughed loudly.

"Why do you think so?!" viking asked his daughter indignantly without ceasing to smile.

"You have this now!" she squeezed his cheeks. "And it is prickly! All old vikings have a beard," the girl said with a sage look and start to list. "Uncle Harald, Una's dad, and there is no hair on his head at all, but shh!.. Uncle Bucket... Even old Goti has one long hair on her chin,” she whispered conspiratorially. "Will you have the same long mustache as Uncle Gobber?!" the girl's blue eyes widened in amazement.

New Berk’s villagers filled the pier, hugging and welcoming the travelers. Everyone looked at the chatting girl with a smile and saluted her father and chief of their tribe with a nod.

"Oh, what are you, Zeffy, only Uncle Gobber can grow up such a mustache!" the chief laughed again. He looked slyly in the serious face, then hugged daughter and buried nose in her neck.

"Ticklish, ticklish!" the girl screeched, wriggling and trying to free, but her father still had held her tightly to him. He pulled back and admired the daughter's face.

"Better tell me how my girls are?" the chief looked around the crowd as if looking out for someone. Zephyr began to tell something merrily, but he no longer heard. 

He saw a woman on a rocky shore, just above the pier. She looked at them and smiled, and her eyes were piercing sky blue, like their daughter's.

* * *

Sentry’s message found her in the large barn, where she was from the very dawn. She allowed herself not to think about it: the ships could belong to sailors, and even if the strangers turned toward the island, she would be immediately notified. The village was well hidden by tall trees, and those who didn't know where New Berk is located couldn't find him. 

She had more important questions besides. It was a month before winter and they almost filled the barns. But today it was suddenly found that willow bark reserves far less than she thought. So, It is necessary to form and send a new viking squad to the forest. Also, the boat that left yesterday at sea returned with an empty net. It meant that the fish had already gone to the north, and it was needed to look for new routes or swim further, but this could be dangerous...

She had so many things to do in the last few days. In the evenings she had the strength only to find her daughter somewhere in the village, put her to bed, and fall into a deep sleep herself. The tribe worked tirelessly, preparing for the winter, but the chief (as people had started to call her because it sounded shorter than "the chieftess") had most of the work. 

But how she missed her husband! His stupid sea trip should have taken no more than three weeks, but he didn't come back after a month. When she had almost exhausted with anxiety and started to form the search ship, the sailors brought a letter: his absence would last for several more weeks. Then there was another letter and another.

At first, she was terribly angry for letting him go alone ("I'm going with you, and that's final!"; “Astrid, we can't leave the island without both chiefs. And what about Zephyr?”). Then she triumphed vengefully, thinking that her husband would be totally punished by weeks of sailing with Snotlout, whose nagging was getting stronger day by day, for sure. But soon anger was changed to distraction: everything was falling apart, and anxious thoughts made it difficult to concentrate. A couple of times, being alone at night (sometimes Valka took her granddaughter to spend the night ), Astrid allowed herself to cry in an empty bed. But the Astrid she knew never cried. Almost. So she pulled herself together and became a strong, confident warrior that everyone was needed. 

Well, she knew what she was getting into. 

"Chief!" the viking called her at the entrance. "There are ships!."

"Yes, Sven, I've been informed. Act as usual. I have already told the sentries that..."

"No, you didn't understand. It's them. They are back. He is back."

...She ran up to the shore from the east side. It remained to go around a rock to go down to the pier. But she saw him standing by the lead ship. Laughing, he was throwing their daughter into the air, and she was echoing his laugh and squealing with each throw. Astrid was looking at them and the knot inside her chest that had tied all her feelings when he left was weakening. She tried to breathe, but happiness, relief, and all the feelings that were accumulating inside while he was gone did not allow her to do this. She needed to run downstairs, hug him, hit him, kiss him, but she stood on the shore and smiled, looking at two of the most important people in her life.

And then he saw her.

* * *

He was holding his daughter in his arms and watching as his wife was descending the eastern cliff and approaching them through the crowd. 

“Mom, it's a dad! Daddy has arrived!” the girl saw where her father was looking, freed herself from his arms, rushed to Astrid, and hugged her legs.

"Yes, dear, I see," the woman couldn't take her eyes off her husband, who was looking at her with a smile. The girl grabbed her mother by the skirt and pulled her through the crowd. A second later, Astrid was next to her husband. 

“Hi,” she said, not knowing what was reflected on her face. "Next time I'll go with you, clear?" she poked him in the chest and took a deep breath, trying to calm the incomprehensible trembling. The man still smiled, not taking his eyes off her. "Do you understand how I felt without you?" her voice suddenly broke into a whisper. “I thought you were… Almost three… three months!” her voice grew louder. "Great Thor, so much has happened! No, everything is fine... We are almost done preparing for winter... But your first letter, and then the second... I thought I’ll go crazy while we finish building a new forge!.. 

She continued to talk, but the man still smiled silently. The wave of rage washed over her. She sighed loudly and punched her husband in the chest again, harder.

"Say something!" she almost shouted.

Without taking his eyes off her face, the chief put his arm around her waist, pulled her to him, and kissed. Kissed the way he kissed her when they were alone. The kiss was so strong, deep, so native and completely unfamiliar, and so ... unusually prickly. 

"Hiccup," she pulled away, looking at him in both surprise and confusion. Laughter and hooting were heard nearby. “What are you… There are so many people here,” Astrid said, and he brushed off a drop from her cheek. "Why are you silent?!" she frowned at his laughing eyes.

“I forget you are so beautiful,” he said ingenuously.

Astrid froze, dumbfounded, but after a moment she smiled, feeling the warmth pouring inside. How can she be angry? She ran her hand over his cheek. 

"And what, it will always be so now?"

"Don't you like it?" the man thoughtfully scratched his chin. "You know, I didn't have much time to do my beauty on the ship, so it had to..." he put his arms around her waist and led her towards the village. "Zephyr didn’t recognize me at first, but it seemed that she accepted,” he grinned. "It remains to find out if my wife recognized me."

"What are you, how can I not recognize you? Moreover, I looked at your leg, just in case." 

The vikings on the pier laughed cheerfully. 

“How funny,” Hiccup replied sarcastically, smiling, and hugged his laughing wife tighter.

“Seriously, I like it,” Astrid said quietly when they almost got to the edge of the dock. She smiled absently, watching their daughter run near the chests and crates that the vikings were unloading onto the dock.

“Hope you won't make braids in it,” Hiccup muttered half-jokingly.

Astrid laughed, no longer able to contain warmth inside her.

Her chief has come home.


End file.
